West Shore RCMP get their man after game of cat and mouse ends in arrest

A youth who posted a rap video on YouTube threatening police officers was finally arrested by West Shore RCMP after he gave police the slip on at least two previous occasions.

Officers spotted 21-year-old Kenneth Brens near midnight on June 10. The West Shore resident had outstanding warrants for assault, causing bodily harm, uttering threats and intimidating the justice system.

In April, Brens was arrested after RCMP became aware of a video in which Brens rapped about the Regional Crime Unit (RCU). In the video he threatens to torture and decapitate officers.

Brens was arrested and initially released. However, a warrant was later issued to ensure Brens would appear in court.

When police spotted him near the Allandale gravel pit on Sooke Road, Brens took off running. The RCMP officers pursued with dogs into an area thick with bushes.

“They did a track for two hours. It was an exhaustive dog track,” West Shore RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Max Fossum said.

Police officers received cuts and scrapes, and came close a couple of times to grabbing Brens, who managed to get away.

The next day, an off-duty West Shore RCMP officer went into a Goldstream Avenue barbershop for a haircut when he saw Brens, getting his own haircut and talking openly with the barber about the night before.

The officer sat down to wait his turn and texted members back at the West Shore detachment. Brens was boasting about how he escaped from the cops and was showing off his cuts and scrapes.

The on-duty officers didn’t get to the barber shop in time to arrest Brens, who has a history of resisting arrest.

The off-duty officer decided it wouldn’t be safe to bring in Brens on his own without any weapons or handcuffs.

“It probably would have been a pretty good fight,” Fossum said. “It was a good thing that he didn’t do that because it probably would have created a pretty big mess in the barbershop. … You really have to be careful, especially when you know this guy is probably going to fight.”

Later that day, police received a tip about Brens’ location. When RCMP went to the house, Brens once again tried to get away. He appeared ready to jump from two stories up before he saw that the house was surrounded.

“It just shows, you can run for a while, through the bush and beat the dogs, and end up being arrested anyway,” Fossum said.